As Denny’s was providing free Grand Slam’s for their beloved customers this week, Biola’s men and women’s teams were feeling as if this week’s match-ups were as big as The Grand Slam.

“It’s sometimes difficult to continue the phase of adrenaline pumped, motivated, hyped up energy pre-match, and when that is delayed, the best thing to do is relax, turn on the tunes and prepare mentally for that first point,” sophomore Weston Leopold said.

With a handful of Biola’s early matches being delayed and postponed because of rain, the Eagles were looking forward to a chance to soar under blue skies this week.

“Its commonly taught and our coach reinforces that at least 70 percent of tennis is a mental game,” senior Nicholas Lazar said. “Coming back to practice (Monday) first thing after doing our normal warm up routine, coach (Jim Emerson) had us sit down and talk about what our personal mental game plans would have been going into the match had it not been postponed due to rain. After we each shared our thoughts coach had us re-evaluate them and see if there were any areas that needed adjustment,”

Biola took full advantage of that this week, with Leopold and sophomore Brent Worthington walking away with a victory from their No. 1 Doubles spot.

The rest of the matchup wasn’t available at press time, with singles being played yesterday.

As for the girls, their chance to fly will have to wait a few more days, with their first matchup against Whittier on Feb. 12.

“I think our team is going to be really good this year. We have a great team community, and good attitudes spawn better players. The team is also very competitive, and we will for the win until the end,” freshman Mariah Pace said.